Kingston SH103S3240G 240GB

This defines whether the drive is a large-capacity slower hard disk drive, a smaller-capacity but much faster solid-state drive, or a hybrid

Physical Size

2.5"

The size of the drive dictates which drive bays it will fit into - generally a small drive will fit into any bigger drive bay with an adapter

Capacity

240GB

The drive storage capacity is the limit to the size of files that can be stored

Release Date

01 Apr 2012

The later the release, the more likely manufacturer support will still be around

Power Required

2W

HDDs should generally require very little power to run, and SSDs even less

Read Speed

555MB/s

The read speed is how fast the drive can read from data stored on it

Write Speed

510MB/s

The write speed is how fast the drive can store data

IOPS

86000

The IOPS (Input/Output Operations Per Second) is a common benchmark used to measure drive performance

Drive Interface

SATA 6Gb/s

The interface is the type of motherboard connection and defines the bandwidth limit of the drive

SH103S3240G 240GB compatibility review

The Kingston SH103S3240G 240GB is a solid-state drive, which means it stores data using flash memory similar to how USBs store data, but much more effectively. Solid-state drives perform much more effectively than hard disk drives, with faster read/write speeds, lower latencies, and even higher physical shock resistance, but come at a price premium. An SSD will cost much more than an HDD with an equivalent storage capacity - although SSDs are becoming cheaper and more viable over time. A common choice is to use a small SSD for an OS installation such as Windows for fast boot times and OS performance, and to use an HDD for applications and files. This avoids the negative point that over-use of data-writing can eventually lead to SSD degradation (although modern SSDs are said to take years before degradation), because Windows does not write much data, but its data is read often.

The Kingston SH103S3240G 240GB is an extremely high-performance SSD and can perform at levels well beyond any HDD.

Its read speed of 555MB/s is very fast, and should thus provide very quick loading speeds for applications and games. Its write speed of 510MB/s is very fast, which should allow you to store data at high speeds.

With a capacity of 240GB, the Kingston SH103S3240G 240GB has a fairly small amount of storage space, in which you could install Windows, some sizable applications, and store some large files. However big the drive, an SSD should always have enough unused memory to be able to rotate space and minimize the reuse of the same areas of the drive. Because each block of space has a limited lifespan, by spreading out the reuse of space it prolongs the lifespan of the SSD as a whole.

Using the SATA 3.0 6Gb/s interface this SSD will not be limited by its motherboard connection.

A form factor size of 2.5" is standard for laptop drives and solid-state drives, and this will fit into any 2.5" drive bay. These drive bays are not yet ubiquitous, but it will also fit into a standard 3.5" or 5.25" drive bay with the appropriate adapter.